It was unfortunate that an Indian missile was inadvertently fired into Pakistan from Sirsa in Haryana which crashed in Mian Channu in Pakistan. No matter the accident is highly regrettable as it could have posed a serious danger to the flights passing through the area as the missile cruised to the attitude of over 40 thousand feet. Soon after the incident, the Government on record said that such an incident has happened and urgently ordered an inquiry to ascertain the cause of the same.
The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh in this regard told Lok Sabha that a high-level probe has been ordered and that if any lapses were found, action against anyone responsible will be taken accordingly. The Government also stated that ‘firing of missile’ is related to an accidental-missile release caused due to the routine maintenance and inspection of the missile unit.
While the Government of India has made it all clear, Pakistan has upped the ante of ‘Joint Probe’ to ascertain what really happened on March 9—which not only is a poor joke but is also not acceptable to India which has disciplined forces manning the borders of the country from all the sides and knows very well how to handle its arsenal and also how to fix responsibility in case of any mishap, the process which has been already started.
It is also to be noted that the government has taken the incident very seriously and that a process of reviewing the necessary SOPs has also been initiated. The Defence Minister also underlined that the Government’s top priority is safety and security while highlighting that country’s missile system is safe and reliable.
Whatever response that has come from the Indian side on the accidental missile fire, Pakistan has clearly stated that it was not ‘satisfied’ and that there was a need for doing more in this direction. Even Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s foreign minister said that they reject whatever Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha and that there was an urgent need for a joint probe.
While the Government of India has to make sure that the loopholes that led to the accident are very well plugged to prevent repeats in the future, Pakistan needs to mind its own business as India has got well-trained, disciplined armed forces, while it holds a vast experience in maintaining its defence systems. It is natural and goes without saying that India will not accept its arch-enemy to have a peep into its defence systems, and on top of it, while India is currently probing what went wrong on March 9, the neighbouring country has got no right to up the ante of joint probe: the same needs a strong retort from India, immediately.
